Sole rounding machine



y 1938. F. E. BERTRAND 2,123,272

SOLE ROUNDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nil lllllllllllHl 10 F1 g]. I

A //v VE/V TUE. imi fi 'm Jilly 12, 1938. BERT-RAND 2,123,272

SOLE ROUNDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Shet 2v Patented July 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOLE ROUNDING MACHINE Frederic E. Bertrand, Lynn, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 15, 1936, Serial No. 115,979

18 Claims.

5, upon material for the production of both outsoles and insoles.

In Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,057,665, Bertrand, October 20, 1936, is disclosed a machine of the well-known Planet type, in which there are two knives traveling under the guidance of two separate patterns, one of these knives dividing sole-stock to form an outsole and the other cutting partially through said stock Within the area formed by the outsole-knife to 5 outline an insole, which may later be separated from the outsole. It will be evident that the drag of these two knives through the stock will apply a very substantial force, tending to displace the workbetween the members which clamp it. The proper holding'of the work is rendered more difiicult by the fact that not only is the sole-material irregular in thickness, so a pattern forced against it Will contact with limited areas only, but also that the patterns themselves, commonly of wood, become distorted, causing an uneven engagement with them of the clamping elements of the machine and by them with the work. .Under such conditions, and wherever the sole-material is sub-' jected to heavy forces of a similar character, an object of my invention is to so clamp the work that it will be securely held for the operations upon it. Inaccomplishing this object, I associate with each of opposite carriers forepart and heelend clamping members arranged for engagement with one sideof an interposed sole-pattern, each of these clamping members being mounted upon the carrier for a universal tilting movement. It will be seen that the members thus arranged may accommodate themselves to wide departures from parallel planes of the surfaces of both the solematerial and the patterns. Consequently, there is assured practically complete engagement of the entire clamping surfaces with the patterns, while saidpatterns are forced into effective contact with the material in spite of'irregularities. The work is thereby securely held against even the displacing tendency of two knives when these are used with both outsoleand insole-patterns. The clamping members, corresponding to the Planet rounder, are arranged one above the other, the lower and upper being in pairs for engagement with the outsoleand insole-patterns, respectively. The members of each pair are spaced from each other for engagement with the foreparts and heel-ends of the soles being cut. They are shown herein as mountedupon posts by universal joints to permit their tilting. The action of accommodation of the clamps to departures of the workand pattern-surfaces from parallelism may be increased by arranging a lever or other memher by which one pair of said clamps is carried, so it may rock. There is thus provided a bodily movement of self-adjustment of the clamps in addition to that about their universal mountings. The upper posts may have yieldable means for separably retaining the clamps against displacement. The carrier and each clamppreferably has a pin and an opening receivingsaid pin to limit the turning movement of the clamp upon the post, and one of the pins may be provided with means for separably retaining the pattern. By employing in the clamps a plurality of the openings just mentioned, said clamps may be differently positioned upon the posts. By this arrangement, the

. clamps may be reversed, so opposite ends may be utilized for, soles. of different sizes. Apart from the use of the clamping members in opposite pairs, there is believed to be patentable novelty in the manner in which I mount the individual members for adjustment upon their supports or carriers. In the support are ways along which a slide is movable. A screw may have its head situated in the ways and extending through the slide to receive a nut acting against the slide to fix it adjustably upon the support. The outer end of l the nut is engaged by the clamp, preferably through ,a universal joint. An extended end of the screw may serve to retain a pattern in correct relation to the clamp, and about this end, the pattern is preferably reversible, being held in either of two operating positions by a pin extending from the slide into one of two openings in the clamp. This adapts the clamp for the previously mentioned use in cutting soles of different sizes.

One of the several possible embodiments of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Here,

Fig. 1 shows my improved rounding machine in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, top-plan view of the upper pattern and its contacting clamping members;

Fig. 3, an enlarged, broken, side elevation of the patterns, clamps and elements more closely associated therewith, and

Fig. 4, a transverse section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Generally, the structure of the machine is as that of the patent already referred to- A frame Ill carries a stationary support or carrier l2, while an overhanging frame-arm M has movable through it a vertical plunger [6, upon the lower extremity of which is mounted a pressure-head or carrier 25. The support I2 lies above a rotatable table 2 l, which bears actuating mechanism for a revoluble outsole-rounding knife 22 and a revoluble insole-rounding knife 24. The knives 22 and 24 are arranged under the control of two patterns, to be later described, to out along two lines a sheet of sole-material held between the patterns. The knife 22 severs the sheet to produce an outsole, while the knife 24 incises the upper side of the sheet along the contour of an insole.

Taking up the elements more particularly involved in the present invention, the support 12 has at its upper side horizontal ways 26, along which may be shifted the heads, of two upwardly extending screws 28, 28. Each screw passes freely through a mounting-block or slide 3!] guided in the upper portion of the ways. Upon the threaded portion of each screw is a nut 32, which, when tightened, draws both the screwhead and block toward the support. When the nut is loosened, the block may be positioned as desired along the support and be secured by screwing down said nut. Each screw is shown as provided with a reduced, upper, cylindrical extremity 34, below which, about the upper end of the nut, is a convex surface 36 having the form of a portion of a sphere. From each block 30, at the outer side of its screw 28 rises a pin or projection 38 extending considerably higher than the end 34 of the screw. Separately borne upon the surfaces 36 of the respective nuts 32, 32 are a forepart-clamp 40 and a heel-end-clamp 42. The central portion of the work-engaging face of each clamp is shown as depressed, leaving a relatively narrow rim or contact-face 43 which gives more effective engagement with irregular worksurfaces than would a continuous face. In each clamp is an opening 44 to receive the screw-end 34, and about this opening is a partly spherical surface 46, complemental to the surface 36 upon thenut. These co-operating surfaces furnish a ball-joint about which each clamp may have a universal tilting movement, permitted by an excess in the diameter of the opening 44 over that of the screw-end 34 but limited-in extent and preventing lateral displacement of the clamp upon the screw by contact of the wall of the opening with the screw-end. Each clamp is further retained in position laterally and prevented from turning horizontally upon its post through more than a very limited amount by the pin 38, which is received in either of two openings 48, 48 in the clamp. About the pins, the openings give sufficient clearance to allow the desired tilting upon the ends of the nuts. Reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings will show that one end of the forepartclamp 45 and of the heel-end-clamp 42 is farther from the opening 44 than is the other, and that the pin-openings 48, 48 are equally spaced from each opening 44. In consequence of this, either clamp may be applied to its support with either extremity outward, so the clamping mechanism is arranged to carry the area of contact with sole-patterns of different sizes close to the ends of such patterns without being outside the peripheries. The extremity of each clamp may generally correspond in form to the portion of the sole-pattern with which it is to co-operate, but the greater extension of one end beyond the mounting than the other better adapts the clamp for use with different widths of toes of the soles being cut. The longer portion of the heel-endclamp at 50, as appears in Fig. 2 in connection with the similarly formed upper clamp, is considerably reduced transversely to avoid interference with the cutting mechanism of the machine, as this passes along the inner side of a shank-portion of the sole. The pins 38 are of sufficient length to project substantially above the clamps. Here, by entrance into openings 52, they receive and hold in a substantially definite position an outsole-pattern 54. This pattern is commonly formed of ply-wood and at its periphery guides the knife 22 in the cutting of an outsole. There is preferably a slight clearance between the pins 38 and the openings 52, this permitting the pattern to tilt somewhat with the clamps to accommodate itself to the sole-material with which it contacts.

In most particulars, the upper clamping means resembles thelower. A forepart-clamp 6B and a heel-end-clamp 62 act against a sole-pattern 64, employed to guide the insole-knife 24 and borne by the head 28. This head is preferably in the form of a lever, being pivotally mounted between its ends at 66 upon the plunger IS. The workengaging faces 43 of these clamps are normally held in a substantially horizontal plane by springs 68, 68 interposed between the head and the plunger. The 7 two clamps, considered toether, are thus capable of adapting themselves by bodily oscillation to differences in thickness of the stock and patterns longitudinally of the soles being cut. The only other departures from the arrangement of the lower portion of the clamping mechanism involves the manner of retaining the clamps 60 and B2 and the pattern 64 in place against the force of gravity. The extended ends 34 of the screws 28 and the lower portion of the pins 38 are longitudinally divided at T0 and have rounded, ball-ends 12. The diameters of these ends are such that their halves will be urged toward each other when the openings in the clamps and pattern are forced over them, they expanding against the walls of the openings to secure the engaged elements in place.

The operator, in using the machine, applies the pairs of clamps 4U, 42, and 60, 62 about the retaining screw-portions 34, with the clamp-ends outward which'most closely'conform to the width of sole being rounded, and places patterns 54 and 64 upon the lower and upper pairs of pins 38. The blocks 30 will have been adjusted upon the support l2 and the head 20 to' agree with the length of the sole to be cut and to register with each other in vertical pairs. The patterns respectively correspond in contour to the outsoleperiphery to be severed and the insole-periphery tobe incised. Then, a piece S of sole-stock is laid upon the pattern 54, the head 2|] at that time being elevated. 'Depression of an unillustrated treadle lowers the plunger S6 to force the pattern 64 against the upper face of the stock and to fix it in place upon the pattern 54. In considering the application of pressure, it should be remembered that in the elements which come between the clamps, there may be many irregularities differing in character; the sole-stock is not uniform in thickness, and the wood patterns become warped and distorted, so they wind and differ in thickness between various portions of their opposite faces. Obviously, the fact that there are two patterns between the clamps as well as the stock, all subject to irregularities, greatly increases the difficulty in obtaining effectively firm retention. The capacity for selfadjustment of .the clamping members and patterns to such irregularities creates contact over sole-pattern,

practically the entire area of their contact-surfaces. For differences in thickness, either .of the stock or of both patterns, tending to cause a longitudinal inclination between the opposite extremities of the sole-area, the rocking of the head 20 about the pivot 66 compensatesr For more localized departures from longitudinal parallelism and for transverse differences, the universal tilting of the clamps. about the ends 36 of the mounting-posts, furnished .by the nuts 32 with their screws 28, causes them to arrange themselves in the best relation to the patternsurfaces with which they contact. The transverse tilting of the clamps will also carry the patterns with them to some extent, thereby allowing said patterns to follow any lack of parallelism between the opposite faces of the stock. The effect of all this will be to produce over practically the entire work-engaging patternsurfaces a uniform pressure which will effectively hold the work against heavy displacing forces.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a sole-rounding machine, opposite car- I riers, and a forepart and a heel-end clamping member upon each carrier arranged for engagement with one side of an interposed sole-pattern, each clamping member being mounted upon the carrier for a universal tilting movement.

2. In a sole-rounding machine, opposite carriers, one of the carriers being pivoted between its ends to rock, and a forepart and a heel-end clamping member upon each carrier arranged for engagement with one side of an interposed each clamping member being mounted upon the carrier for universal tilting movement. I

3. In a sole-rounding machine, opposite carriers, two posts spaced from each other upon each carrier, and forepart-clamps and heel-endclamps mounted upon the posts of each carrier, there being a universal joint between each clamp and its mounting-post.

4. In a sole-rounding machine, upper and lower carriers, two posts spaced from each other upon each carrier, and forepart-clamps and heelend-clamps mounted upon the posts of each carrier, there being a universal joint between each clamp and its mounting-post, each upper post having yieldable means for separably' retaining its clamp against downward displacement.

5. In a sole-rounding machine, opposite carriers, two posts spaced from each other upon each carrier, and forepart-clamps and heel-endclamps mounted upon the posts of each carrier, there being a universal joint between each clamp and its mounting-post, each clamp and its carrier having a pin and an opening receiving said pin to limit the turning movement of the clamp upon its post while permitting it to tilt upon the universal joint.

6. In a sole-rounding machine, opposite carriers, two posts spaced from each other upon each carrier, and forepart-clamps and heel-endclamps mounted upon the posts of each carrier, there being a universal joint between each clamp and its mounting-post, each clamp and its carrier having a pin and a plurality of openings to receive said pin to differently position said clamp.

'7. In a sole-rounding machine, opposite carriers, two posts spaced from each other upon each carrier, forepart-clamps and heel-endclamps mounted upon the posts of each carrier,

there being a universal joint between each clamp and its mountingpost, each carrier having a pin and each clamp an opening receiving said pin, the pin upon one carrier having means for separably retaining a pattern upon the clamps.

8. In a sole-rounding machine, a lower support, an upper pressure-head including a rocking lever, a forepart-clamp and a heel-endclamp spaced from each other upon the support, a. forepart-clamp and a heel-end-clamp spaced from each other upon the lever, all the clamps being mounted to rock upon the support and lever, and a pattern engaged by each pair of clamps.

9. In a sole-rounding machine, a lower support, an upper pressure-head, a forepart-clamp and a heel-end-clamp spaced from each other upon the support, a forepart-clamp and a heelend-clamp spaced from each other upon the head, all the clamps being mounted to rock upon the support and head, a pattern engaged by each pair of clamps, an outsole-knife guided by the lower pattern, and an insole-knife guided by the upper pattern.

10. In a sole-rounding machine, a lower support, an upper pressure-head, a pair of posts projecting from the support, a pair of posts projecting from the head, each post being provided with a rounded surface, and a clamp mounted upon each post and having a complemental surface for engagement with the rounded surface thereof.

11. In a sole-rounding machine, a lower support, an upper pressure head, a pair of posts projecting from the support, a pair of posts projecting from the head, each post being provided with a rounded surface and the upper posts being provided with enlarged divided ends, and a clamp mounted upon each post and having a complemental surface for engagement with the rounded surface thereof, the upper clamps being retained against downward displacement by the ends of the posts.

12. In a sole-rounding machine, a lower support, an upper pressure-head, a pair of posts projecting from the support, a pair of posts projecting from the head, each post being provided with a rounded surface, a clamp mounted upon each post and having a complemental surface for engagement with the rounded surface thereof, and pairs of pins projecting from the support and head through openings in the respective clamps, the openings giving clearance between the pins and clamps.

13. In a sole-rounding machine, a lower support, an upper pressure-head, a pair of posts projecting from the support, a pair of posts projecting from the head, each post being provided with a rounded surface, a clamp mounted upon each post and having a complemental surface for engagement with the rounded surface thereof, pairs of pins projecting from the support and head through openings in the respective clamps, a pin upon the head being provided with a ballend divided longitudinally of the pin, and a pattern engaged by each pair of pins, the upper pattern being retained by the divided end of the pin.

14. In a, sole-rounding machine, a support provided with ways, a slide movable upon the support and guided in the ways, a screw extending through the slide and having a head movable in the ways, a nut movable upon the screw against the slide to fix said slide .adjustably upon the support, and a clamp engaging the outer end of the nut.

15. In a sole-rounding machine, a support provided with ways, a slide movable upon the support, a screw extending through the slide and having a head movable in the ways, a nut movable upon the screw against the slide to fix said slide adjustably upon the support, and a clamp engaging the outer end of the nut, there being a universal joint between the nut and clamp.

16. In a sole-rounding machine, a support provided with ways, a slide movable upon the support and guided in the ways, a screw extending through the slide and having a head movable in the ways, the screw being provided with an end extending beyond the thread, a nut movable upon the screw against the slide to fix said slide adjustably upon the support, and a clamp engaging the outer end of the nut and retained by the extended end of the screw.

17. In a sole-rounding machine, a support provided with ways, a slide movable upon the support, a screw extending through the slide and having a head movable in the ways, a nut movable upon the screw against the slide to fix said slide adjustably upon the support, and a clamp engaging the outer end of the nut, said clamp extending for different distances from the screw longitudinally of the sole and being reversible in position upon said screw.

18. In a sole-rounding machine, a support provided with ways, a slide movable upon the support, a screw extending through the slide and having a head movable in the ways, a nut movable upon the screw against the slide to fix said slide adjustably upon the support, a clamp engaging the outer ,end of the nut, said clamp extending for different distances from the screw longitudinally of the sole and being reversible in position upon said screw, there being openings in the clamp equally spaced from the screw at its opposite sides, and a pin projecting from the slide and arranged to enter either clamp-opening.

FREDERIC E. BERTRAND. 

